When you want your corporate event to leave a lasting impression, it’s not enough to have impressive speakers and a stacked agenda. You also have to keep attendees engaged and entertained.
Booking the right kind of entertainment can take your corporate event from good to great. Nowadays, event-goers expectations are heavily shaped by other events — like festivals, and they want more experiences like that.
Get inspired to take your corporate event to the next level with these 10 entertainment ideas.
Entertainment idea #1: Escape room
An escape room is a real-life puzzle game where you and your team have to solve a puzzle and complete tasks together to get out. There is also usually a narrative and story that motivates the game, and you and your team get to play as the protagonists.
Working together is the key to escape, and is exactly why escape rooms are a perfect corporate event entertainment idea. Escape rooms are not only interactive, but naturally create an opportunity for attendees to bond as a team. You can search for mobile escape rooms in your city who bring a customised experience to you.
Entertainment idea #2: Live band karaoke
Karaoke is like pizza — always a good idea. But if you want to kick it up a notch, how about karaoke with a live band? This gives your attendees the chance to have a full “rockstar” experience, and one they won’t soon forget.
Entertainment idea #3: Virtual and augmented reality
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are becoming increasingly more affordable and ubiquitous, and it is becoming easier to incorporate the experience with your event – learn how UNICEF is using VR to revolutionise fundraising.
Give your attendees the chance to test the limits of their imagination. For example, a virtual skydiving simulator gives people the experience of skydiving without leaving your event. Want VR, but don’t have the budget? There are DIY options out there you’re willing to get crafty and have the time to do so.
Entertainment idea #4: Interactive food and drink stations
Delight attendees as they discover several interactive food and beverage stations dotted throughout your event. From a customisable champagne cocktail bar to a live stir-fry station or even a doughnut wall, there’s plenty of creative ways to ensure your attendees are well fed and wow them at the same time.
Entertainment idea #5: Casino
Setting up a casino at your event with game tables, slot machines, and professional croupiers is an easy way to provide entertainment for attendees. Opt for a rental service over DIY to save yourself the trouble of buying all the supplies and learning the rules beforehand — being a dealer isn’t as easy as it looks. It’s especially important to make sure not to use any real money unless you’ve run it by the legal department.
Entertainment idea #6: Cirque show
Thanks to acts like Cirque du Soleil, the word ‘circus’ doesn’t immediately call to mind the image of big tops and ringmasters. The art form is now more of an immersive experience, and can heighten your corporate event. Add some mystique by hiring contortionists, acrobats, and aerial performers.
Entertainment idea #7: Graffiti artist
Watching a work of art come to life on a large scale can be thrilling. If you have the space, it’s worth considering bringing in a live graffiti artist to do a mural during your event. Attendees will be able to watch its progress, and the artwork will serve as a conversation piece. Include a raffle at your event, and use the final product as one of the prizes.
Entertainment idea #8: Social photo booths
If the prominence of Instagram is any proof, people love to share photos from events they attend — especially photo booth photos. A quick and easy way to keep attendees engaged and entertained is a social photo booths like Social Playground or Pix2Flix Flipbooks. They make it easy for people to take stills, videos, or GIFs, and share the images straight to their social media accounts. If you don’t have the budget to hire an automated booth, you’d be surprised what you can pull together with a bit of DYI.
Entertainment idea #9: Corporate comedian
Depending on the theme and tone of your event, a corporate comedian is a fun entertainment idea. A corporate comedian keeps the language clean, and the topics business-related, poking fun at the facets of working life that border on ridiculous. Keep an eye out for comedians who specialise in corporate gigs, or have experience working “clean”, to make sure your comedian doesn’t cross the line into offensive.
Entertainment idea #10: Customisable swag stations
People love free stuff, but only if it’s actually something they want — most giveaways end up in the trash because they’re not useful. A customisable swag station, filled with fresh items attendees will love, is a surefire way to send them home with swag they’ll keep.
Feeling motivated for your next corporate event? Set up your entertaining event on Eventbrite.
